Desmond Morris

Desmond John Morris , zoo author, and biologist in United Kingdom

Morris was born * 1928-01-24 in Purton, Wiltshire United Kingdom dead 2026-04-19 Naas, County Kildare, in Ireland .

Desmond Morris worked at the London Zoo (ZSL) from 1956 to 1967.

His tenure is typically divided into two major professional roles at the zoo:
Head of Television and Film Unit (1956–1959): Morris originally joined to launch and host the weekly Granada Television program Zoo Time, which was broadcast directly from the zoo.
Curator of Mammals (1959–1967): He was appointed to this prestigious Research and management post in 1959, becoming the youngest curator in the zoo's history at the time

Morris resigned from the zoo in 1967 following the massive global success of his book The Naked Ape, which allowed him to pursue a full-time career as an author and researcher of human behavior.

Desmond Morris died in Naas, County Kildare, Ireland, on 19 April 2026, at the age of 98.

• The Biology of Art: a Study of the Picture-making Behaviour of the Great Apes and Its Relationship to Human Art. Alfred A. Knopf. 1963.
• The Big Cats (1965) – part of The Bodley Head Natural Science Picture Books, looking at the habits of the five Big Cats.[18]
• The Mammals: A Guide to the Living Species (1965) – a listing of mammal genera, non-rodent non-bat species, and additional information on select species.
• Men and Pandas (1966) with Ramona Morris – third volume in the Ramona and Desmond Morris animal series.
• The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal. New York: McGraw-Hill. 1967. – a look at the humanity's animalistic qualities and its similarity with other apes. In 2011, Time magazine placed it on its list of the 100 best or most influential non-fiction books written in English since 1923.[19]
• Men and Snakes (1968) with Ramona Morris – an exploration of the various complex relationships between humans and snakes
• The Human Zoo (1969) – a continuation of The Naked Ape, analysing human behaviour in big modern societies and their resemblance to animal behaviour in captivity.
• Patterns of Reproductive Behavior (1970)
• Intimate Behaviour (1971) – A study of the human side of intimate behaviour, examining how natural selection shaped human physical contact.
• Manwatching: A Field Guide to Human Behaviour (1978) – includes discussion of topic "Tie signs" Gestures: Their Origin and Distribution (1979)
• Animal Days (1979)
• The Soccer Tribe (1981)
• Pocket Guide to Manwatching (1982)
• Inrock (1983)
• Bodywatching – A Field Guide to the Human Species (1985)
• The Book of Ages: Who Did What When (1985)
• The Art of Ancient Cyprus (1985)
• Catwatching and Cat Lore (1986)
• Dogwatching (1986)
• Horsewatching (1989)
• Animalwatching (1990)
• Babywatching (1991)
• Christmas Watching (1992)
• Bodytalk (1994)
• The Human Animal (1994) – book and BBC documentary TV series
• The Human Sexes (1997) – Discovery/BBC documentary TV series
• Cat World: A Feline Encyclopedia (1997)
• The Secret Surrealist: The Paintings of Desmond Morris (1999)
• Body Guards: Protective Amulets and Charms (1999)
• The Naked Eye (2001)
• Dogs: The Ultimate Dictionary of over 1,000 Dog Breeds (2001)
• Peoplewatching: The Desmond Morris Guide to Body Language (2002)
• The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body (2004)
• Linguaggio muto (Dumb Language) (2004)
• The Nature of Happiness (2004)
• Watching (2006) – autobiography
• Fantastic Cats (2007)
• The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body (2008)
• Baby: A Portrait of the First Two Years of Life (2008)
• Planet Ape (2009) (co-authored with [Steve Parker])
• Owl (2009) – Part of the Reaktion Books Animal series
• The Artistic Ape (2013)
• Monkey (2013) – Part of the Reaktion Books Animal series
• Leopard (2014) – Part of the Reaktion Books Animal series
• Bison (2015) – Part of the Reaktion Books Animal series
• Cats in Art (2017) – Part of the Reaktion Books Animal series

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